


Passing The Time

by Azrael_The_Lucifan



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, x-men dofp
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Mentioned Past Character Death, dadneto kinda, mostly - Freeform, pulled some lore form the comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29965677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azrael_The_Lucifan/pseuds/Azrael_The_Lucifan
Summary: While locked up beneath the Pentagon Erik befriends one of the young guards. Here are some snippets of their conversations over the years.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 17





	Passing The Time

The guards weren’t supposed to talk to him, or so he thought. In the three years Erik had been imprisoned beneath the Pentagon he could count on one hand the number of words the guards spoke to him while delivering his meals. In fact the list consisted of four words, bastard, murderer, freak, and food. It was somehow the word food that bothered Erik the most, there was one guard who would announce the delivery of his meals every time; at first it was humorous, now it was just a nuisance. Then, a new guard came one day and thoroughly confused Erik. The new guard came in with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Erik watched him curiously through the glass ceiling as he slid the food tray down the slide. 

“Morning Mr. Lehnsherr! How are you doing today?” His voice was cheerful and light, as if talking to an old friend, not a man convicted of murder.

Erik continued to stare up at him, ignoring the food tray that had come to a stop at his feet. The guard was young, barely out of high school if Erik had to guess. He had dark hair and even darker eyes, a long nose and slim face, smile ever present. Erik said nothing as he stared at the guard who seemed unfazed. 

“Yeah, the guys told me you’re not much of a talker but I thought I’d ask anyway.” he shrugged. “We’re gonna be seeing a lot of each other though, I was hired specifically to guard you. Not like the other guys who are on a rotation. The suits upstairs figured it would be easier to have one person bring you stuff rather than a bunch of different people. It’s easier to schedule, y’know?” Erik still didn’t respond, just stared at the guard with his seemingly endless optimism. “Well, I should get going, Mr. Lehnsherr, but make sure to eat before it gets cold!”

The guard left and Erik still stood in the middle of his cell, completely baffled by what had just happened. Eventually though, he sat back down and ate his breakfast of oatmeal and a box of orange juice. The boy seemed too nice in Erik’s opinion, treating him like a child in time out rather than a hardened criminal; it didn’t make sense. The hours passed and Erik contemplated why the boy could possibly be treating him so differently than all of the other guards did. The thought crossed his mind that the boy didn’t know what he was imprisoned for, as far as he knew his sentence was never made public so it was a possibility. 

When the boy came back to deliver lunch he was just as cheerful as he had been that morning. He was whistling a tune as he walked in and happily greeted Erik but before he could say much more than “hello” Erik cut him off.

“Why are you talking to me?” His voice came out scratchy, it had been a few days since he’d last spoken. “I thought the guards weren’t allowed to talk to me.”

The boy looked taken aback and then a bit sheepish. “Well, it’s not that they aren’t allowed to talk to you, it's that they don’t want to. They think you’re some kind of monster.”

“And you don’t?” Erik asked, intrigued.

“Nope.” The boy replied, popping the “p”.

“Why?”

He shrugged, he seemed to do that a lot, “Because I know you didn’t do it.”

Before Erik could ask him anymore questions there was a shout from down the hall. “Dacey! Hurry up, it doesn’t take that long to drop off food.”

Dacey’s eyes widened and he quickly slid the tray down to Erik. “Sorry, Mr. Lehnsherr, I gotta go.” He said before practically running back down the hall. 

Erik quietly ate his lunch as he pondered what Dacey had said. He hadn’t said he _thought_ Erik was innocent, he’d said he _knew._ He thought about the boy’s words for the rest of the afternoon as he did what little exercise he could in the confinement of his cell. Keeping track of time was never easy in his cell but Erik did his best and knew that Dacey would be back with dinner around 6:30. Except it wasn’t Dacey who came with his dinner, it was the insufferable guard who always announced his presence by saying ”food”. The tray landed at his feet and making sure to speak loud enough to be heard through the glass he asked, “where’s the kid?” 

The guard jumped at the question, he looked genuinely startled, Erik would have smiled if he weren’t so curious about Dacey’s whereabouts.

“What’s it to you?” The guard was apprehensive and it occurred to Erik that this particular guard had never actually heard him speak.

Erik made his best show of nonchalance. “Just curious. He seemed excited about his new job, it seems odd that he didn’t stay the whole day.”

The guard seemed to relax a little with that answer but still remained cautious. “He’s just filling out some paperwork. He’ll be back tomorrow.” 

* * *

  
  


Sure enough the next morning Erik heard the chipper voice of Dacey wishing him a good morning. Today Erik said it back. 

“Good morning, Dacey. What did you mean yesterday when you said you know I didn’t do it?”

Dacey chuckled. “Oh right, I forgot about that.” He slid the breakfast tray down then sat at the edge of the glass. “Well the way I see it there’s no possible way it could be you.” Erik raised a brow at that and Dacey held up his hands in response. “Hear me out, man. You can control metal, like completely control it, you could make a bullet do a loop-d-loop before hitting its target, right?” Erik nodded, not sure where the kid was going with this. “Alright, then I’m right. See the thing people around here seem to forget is that the first two bullets missed. With your power that should never have happened, you wouldn’t have missed because had you fired the bullet you would have had complete control over it.”

Erik smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. This kid who barely looked old enough to have his job figured out what countless government officials and lawyers couldn’t. 

“I like you Dacey, you seem like a good kid.”

Dacey grinned, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Are you just saying that because I think you’re innocent?”

Erik chuckled. “I’m saying it because you think for yourself, I respect that.”

Dacey looked proud at that. He stood up and smiled down at Erik. “In that case Mr. Lehnsherr, you get first name privileges. You can call me Jacob.”

Erik gave him a nod. “Jacob then.” Jacob looked like he was about to leave when Erik realized this conversation had lasted longer than their previous one. “Yesterday they yelled at you to hurry up, but today they haven’t. Why is that?”

Jacob turned around with a proud smile on his face. “Once I told them the reason I took so long was because we were talking they were shocked. Some of them said they’d never heard you speak before, even thought you were mute at one point. They think I’m some kind of miracle maker or something, said to take as much time as I want so long as I “don’t get too friendly” whatever that means.” Erik smiled at the air quotes Jacob used. “Anyway Mr. Lehnsherr, I won’t bother you too much. Enjoy your breakfast!” Without another word Jacob left, whistling a tune as he went.

* * *

Erik quickly learned that Jacob had meant it when he said he’d been hired specifically to guard Erik. Monday to Friday Jacob would deliver all his meals, escort him to the showers to get cleaned up and change into a clean jumpsuit, watch him as he shaved with a glass razor, and cut his hair every other month. Jacob was almost always in a good mood and was quite the chatterbox, Erik didn’t mind though, in fact he enjoyed conversing with Jacob. They would talk about anything really, the weather, recent news, fond memories. A year had gone by when Jacob brought up a personal topic for the first time. Jacob was sitting at the edge of the glass as he often did after sliding the food tray down but today instead of cheerful he looked nervous.

“Hey Mr. Lehnsherr, can I tell you a secret?” His tone was reminiscent of a child about to tell their friend they cheated on the spelling test; it reminded Erik just how young the kid was. Erik shrugged and took a bite of his toast.

“Sure, kid, I’m good at keeping secrets… not that I have anyone to tell.”

“Ok, here goes nothing.” Jacob took a deep breath and then said the last thing Erik expected him to say. “I’m a mutant.” Jacob let out a shaky laugh as Erik sat staring up at him, dumbstruck. “Wow, that felt good. You know I’ve never actually told anyone that?” Jacob was pacing back and forth, nervous energy radiating off of him. “I mean it, I’ve never told _anyone,_ not even my family. I figured I could tell you since, well, you definitely wouldn’t hate me for being a mutant. I plan on telling my family eventually but I needed to practice telling someone, you know?”

Jacob continued to drone on and Erik didn’t really register what the boy was saying. Now he knew why Jacob was so nice to him, the reason the kid didn’t think he was a monster, the reason he held no fear. Erik wasn’t sure how long he sat there in silence but it was long enough for Jacob to stop rambling. Erik snapped himself out of his train of thought and smirked at Jacob. 

“I was wondering why you weren’t afraid of me.” Jacob smirked back, a knowing glint in his eye. “So, what is your mutation? I’d imagine it’s something that can either negate my abilities or at least protect you from them.”

In response Jacob held his hands in front of him, one palm up, one down, and cupped, as if holding a ball. He slowly pulled his hands apart and a sphere started to grow, almost invisible save for a faint iridescent tint. Erik watched in fascination. “Force fields.” Said Jacob. “I haven’t tested exactly what they can stop but they’re pretty strong.”

“Marvelous.” Said Erik. 

Jacob smiled a small and tentative smile. “You think so?” Erik nodded. “I mean, I’m nowhere near as powerful as you but I think I’m pretty good at what I do. I even thought about joining that new school up in New York, The Xavier Institute, or something like that.” Jacob didn’t notice the flicker of recognition on Erik’s face. “But I figured it would be weird for me to enroll as an adult. Plus around the same time my uncle told me about the job here being a guard; he works as some kind of administrator upstairs. When he told me about the job I knew I had to take it. I’d wanted to ask you about the Kennedy thing as soon as I’d heard the “truth” of what happened.” Jacob could see the question on Erik’s face at that. Jacob scratched the back of his head nervously. “My uncle is surprisingly bad at keeping secrets for someone who works in the Pentagon. He told me all about how they arrested you and had like, a secret trial and what not. The whole time he was telling me I was thinking about how it all went down and just knew there was something off. I based my assumptions off of the control I have over my powers and that’s when I figured it couldn’t have been you. And I’m rambling again aren’t I?”

“A little bit.” Erik laughed. “You mentioned the Xavier Institute; it wouldn’t happen to be run by _Charles_ Xavier would it?”

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

“He’s an old friend.” Erik smiled ruefully before continuing. “If you ever get the chance, Jacob, Charles is an excellent teacher, he could help you refine your skills. He’s a bit of a naive idealist but he’s quite knowledgeable. He also has nothing against having adult students.”

“Sounds like you know him pretty well.”

“I did.”

* * *

  
  


It was a few weeks later and Jacob came in with a huge smile on his face.

“I did it!.” He announced as he delivered the morning’s meal.

“Did what?” Asked Erik.

“I told my family that I’m a mutant, and my girlfriend too.”

Erik raised an eyebrow at him. “I take it from the look on your face they were supportive?”

“Yeah, well, mostly.” Jacob shrugged. “Mom thought it was awesome. Dad wasn’t upset, just, I don’t know, weary I guess? Like he wasn’t sure what to think I suppose. The real cool part was when I told Alice, that’s my girlfriend, because it turns out she’s a mutant too and was waiting to tell me. What a coincidence, right?”

“Quite the coincidence.” Erik agreed as he took a bite of toast. “What’s her mutation?”

“She can run through things; it’s really cool, she can even run through my force fields.” Jacob had a wistful look on his face, then he began to chuckle. “She told me when she first got her powers she’d fallen through her bed… and the floor. Yeah, she and her family were all pretty confused as to why she woke up in the laundry room.”

Erik chuckled as well. “Yes, I suppose that would be a rather confusing moment.” There was a moment of silence before Erik spoke again. “I’m happy for you, Jacob, most mutants aren’t as lucky as you are to have an accepting family.”

“Thanks, Mr. Lehnsherr. You know, if it weren’t for you I probably never would have told them, so really, thank you.”

“We mutants have to stick together.”

* * *

  
  


Time went on and even with the monotonous schedule in his concrete prison Erik hadn’t gone mad yet… well, he thought he hadn’t gone mad yet; it was hard to tell when Jacob was the only person he talked to. Today Jacob asked him a seemingly trivial question. Erik was a little surprised as Jacob was never one to pry, he would volunteer information and he was happily surprised when Erik would do the same.

“Mr. Lehnsherr, if you could have one book in here with you, what would it be?”

“Just one?”

“Yup. Just one, you can’t switch it out for another one later or something.”

Erik pondered the question for only a brief moment before making his decision. “The Hobbit.”

Jacob raised his eyebrows at that. “ _The Hobbit?_ Like, the children’s book? The one with elves and wizards and dwarves and stuff?” Erik nodded. “Huh. I thought you would pick one of the great classics of history or whatever, like, Moby Dick, The Odyssey, Dante’s Inferno _, s_ omething like those. I never would have guessed you’d want a children’s book. So come on, spill, why would you want The Hobbit?”

A melancholic smile spread across Erik’s face then. “It uh,” Erik cleared his throat, “it was my daughter’s favourite.”

The joking smile Jacob had been wearing disappeared in a flash. “Was?” His voice wavered as if he was afraid to even ask.

The look on Erik’s face darkened and he turned his gaze to the floor. “I’d give anything to see her again.”

It wasn’t an answer per say but Jacob knew how to read between the lines, he wasn’t stupid. He stood up from his usual spot and looked down at Erik. “I uh, I’m sorry Mr. Lehnsherr, I didn’t mean t-”

“It’s fine.”

But it wasn’t fine. Jacob had hit a nerve. He’d done it once before not long after he’d first started. He’d snuck in a chocolate bar, not a cheap one either, it was some German chocolate; he’d thought Erik might appreciate something from home. He didn’t know why but Erik didn’t talk to him for two weeks after that, Erik didn’t eat the chocolate either, just stared at it like it was some vile creature. Jacob hoped he hadn’t crossed another one of those unknown lines again. Erik was infinitely more intimidating when he was silent.

* * *

  
  


It had been nearly a month since Jacob had asked about books and Erik had mostly forgotten about the exchange. It came as quite a surprise then, when along with his breakfast one day there came a book. Hardcover and well worn, the letters on the front almost illegible. Either way, Erik recognized it immediately as a copy of The Hobbit. He sat up from where he’d been laying and picked up the book, a small but genuine smile on his face. Looking up Erik saw Jacob smiling down at him.

“Open it.” He said.

Curiously, Erik did as he was told and opened the front cover of the book. Inside there was a photograph he knew very well. It was a little girl with auburn hair and sea glass eyes, a crown of wildflowers on her head, puffy sleeved dress covered in grass stains and bare feet covered in dirt. He’d carried this photo in his wallet for years, he’d stared at it for hours on end at times, he’d thought he’d never see it again. Erik was dimly aware of the tears building in his eyes but found he didn’t care. He could hear Jacob’s retreating footsteps and couldn’t decide what to say so he said the first thing that came to mind to get Jacob to stay.

“Anya.”

The footsteps paused then grew closer. Jacob was looking down at him through the glass. 

“What was that?” He asked.

“Her name was Anya.” Said Erik, not taking his eyes off the photo. “She died in a fire when she was five. She’d be around your age now, maybe a few years younger. She would pretend to be one of the elves of Mirkwood, always fighting imaginary giant spiders. Her favourite colour was blue, the exact colour of her dress.” 

Erik found once he started he couldn’t stop talking. He continued to talk about anything and everything he could remember about Anya; her favourite foods, the way she laughed, the things she was afraid of, all of it. Jacob just sat and listened, occasionally chiming in here and there but staying silent for the most part. After about an hour another guard came in to check on them but quickly left when he saw Jacob sitting at the edge of the glass with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. 

It was almost lunch time when Jacob finally left. A number of other guards stopped him as he headed toward the elevator. 

“What was that about?” Asked Wilson, one of the oldest guards.

Jacob smiled, “I gave him a piece of his life back.” Jacob stepped onto the elevator before they could ask any more questions. 

Back in his cell Erik was staring at the photo of Anya as if it were the most beautiful thing in the world, and despite its worn edges and faded colours to Erik it truly was the most beautiful thing in the world. He vowed to never lose it again.

* * *

  
  


One day in 1970 Jacob came in looking dejected. Erik was about to ask what was wrong but Jacob spoke first.

“The school closed.”

Erik stood up and stared at Jacob, not sure he’d heard him right. 

“The Xavier Institute, I mean. I’d been keeping tabs on it in case I ever wanted to check it out like you suggested. Turns out a bunch of the teachers and students all got drafted to go to Viet-Nam and they just couldn’t operate anymore.”

Erik felt uneasy at the information; he remembered when Charles first mentioned the idea of starting a school, it had made him so happy Erik didn't want to think of what losing the school would do to Charles. But he had to ask.

“And Charles? Do you know how he’s handling the closure?”

Jacob grimaced and Erik felt like there was a pit in his stomach. “Alice told me when she went to check the place out that he wouldn’t even see anyone. It was just some dorky looking guy who told her the school was closed and that the professor wasn’t accepting any new students.” 

‘ _Hank’_ , Erik thought.

“So, I don’t think he’s handling it very well.”

“Thank you for telling me, Jacob.”

“Yeah, no problem, just wish I had better news to tell you.”

* * *

It was late spring of 1973 and Jacob was once again sitting at the edge of the glass talking to Erik. They’d grown close over the years to the point where Erik considered Jacob to be a friend. He would sometimes entertain the idea of Jacob and Alice breaking him out, with their combined powers and Jacob’s security clearance it would probably even be easy. As entertaining as it was to imagine though, Erik knew it would never happen, the two of them weren’t cut out to live as criminals. 

“It’s pretty wild that today is the last day I’ll be seeing you for a whole month, Mr. Lehnsherr.”

Erik nodded as he ate his lunch. “I can honestly say I’ll miss seeing you every day, the other guards are so boring.” Jacob laughed at that. “But I can manage a month of boredom. I just wish I could go to your wedding; from what you’ve told me it sounds like it will be quite fun.”

“Yeah it sure would be a blast to have you there, Alice has wanted to meet you for ages but well, you know, no visitors allowed and no parole. But don’t worry, I’ll show you photos and tell you all about it once we get back from our honeymoon!”

Erik grinned, letting out a breathy laugh. “I look forward to it. You’ll be going to Paris, right?”

“Yup! Alice has always wanted to go, plus I hear it’s really nice this time of year.”

“Well, I hope it’s everything she’s dreamed of. I haven’t been to France since my 20’s so I’m sure some things have changed.” 

Jacob laughed at that. “Aw come on Mr. Lehnsherr, you’re making yourself sound old!”

“I’m old enough to be your father.” Erik argued with a raised eyebrow.

Jacob scoffed. “Mr. Lehnsherr, you’re 43, I’m 24, you’re _barely_ old enough to be my dad.” 

“But still old enough.” Said Erik, pointing at Jacob with his fork.

The two continued to chat, making the most of the last day they’d spend together until Jacob got back. It was the first time in Jacob’s six years as a guard that he was taking vacation time so Erik had gotten very used to having him around. They’d spent so much time with each other and learned so much about each other that Erik could honestly say there probably wasn’t a single person alive he was closer to, not even Charles. It would certainly be odd to not see Jacob for a whole month.

* * *

  
  
The guards weren’t supposed to talk to him, or so he thought. Three years into his imprisonment Erik learned the truth that the guards just didn’t _want_ to talk to him. In the over nine years he had been locked up there was only one guard who bothered to give him the time of day. It came as a surprise then, when three weeks after Jacob left there was a note in his lunch tray. The guards could talk to him, so why a note? Erik glanced up at the guard who dropped the tray and found he didn’t recognize him. He had silver hair and a young face, he was just a kid. Erik leaned over his lunch tray to read the note, all it said was _mind the glass._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I pulled the Anya stuff from the comics and made some up. (The Hobbit bit was all me). I've never written for X-men before so tell me what you think! (just don't be mean please! Criticism is fine just don't be rude.)
> 
> I'm think of writing a fic of how Jacob got the photo so if you're interested in that let me know!


End file.
